The Transfer Thread

[Acid]

Re: The Transfer Thread



I'll miss Flamini.

I'd love to see Wenger go out and get Samir Nasri, I think he'd be ****ing deadly with Arsenal's style of play.

[KG]

Re: The Transfer Thread

I'll miss Flamini.

I'd love to see Wenger go out and get Samir Nasri, I think he'd be ****ing deadly with Arsenal's style of play.

Samir would be really nice. His passing skills would complement Cesc but he has alot more pace.

[Bruins]

Re: The Transfer Thread

I don't think Nasri would be good for Arsenal, they need someone to compliment Cesc (like Flamini did), and Nasri wouldn't be that player, IMO. They need someone that can sit back and allow Cesc to go forward and be creative, which is exactly what Nasri is best at as well.

[Qb]

Re: The Transfer Thread

Milan have inked Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini...

Damn, I guess its official now. He's always been one of my favorites due to his non-stop motor, fearless attitude and knack for scoring clutch goals. It was cool that EA bumped him up to a respectable 80 with the squad update; finally some VG recognition for an underrated performer who isn't a 'star', but still the kind of player every team needs. I hope for his sake that he doesn't get buried at Milan, considering they have Gattuso & Pirlo in the center of midfield...

So does Gilberto stay at Arsenal for another year now? He never regained his place after taking time to recover from his summer play with Brazil, but had been solid (when healthy) in years prior. I guess the other in-house options are Denilson (too inexperienced & similar to Fabregas in style I would think) and Diaby (too injury prone to rely on as a starter).

We can all assume Wenger won't buy a top-notch experienced (ie, expensive) player to replace Flamini. Perhaps Miguel Veloso of Sporting Lisbon could be had, but I'm sure he will cost a pretty penny as I believe some of the top clubs in Europe were linked to him. That includes Manchester United and their ties to Lisbon are well-documented, having bought Ronaldo and Nani from the Portuguese giants.

Oh well, probably another summer of the status quo, although Kranjcar is a possibility and would add some needed attacking depth to ease Rosicky's injury concerns and Hleb's inconsistency. However, it still wouldn't address their biggest needs of more grit and defensive presence, which is only exacerbated by the loss of Flamini.

One of the reasons I like Arsenal is that they try to develop young players in their style as opposed to buying whatever big names hit the transfer market, but it sure is frustrating when they have an obvious need for veteran influence and are unlikely to do anything about it. Their reluctance to spend (understandable due to the debt on the Emirates) has also prevented them from adding that one big-time, game-breaking talent that could put the team over the top. I was really hoping for Ribery last summer, but I doubt they were ever seriously in the running from a monetary standpoint.

Anyways I've rambled enough. Time to go kill some people.... GTA-style, of course!

[calcutta]

Re: The Transfer Thread

Potentially worse news for ya, q-bert: Hleb will leave Gunners

I've also read/heard reports locally of Chelsea looking to sign Sergio Ramos (in a deal where he'd become the highest transfer fee for a defender) and Bayern signing Gennaro Gattuso, but they both appear to wild rumours at this stage.

[Qb]

Re: The Transfer Thread

Potentially worse news for ya, q-bert: Hleb will leave Gunners

I suspect that Hleb will eventually leave this summer. Wenger seemed to be publicly politicking for him to stay and usually when that happens, the player is halfway out the door. While his departure would hurt the Gunners, his inconsistency has hurt them as well. At least Inter will have to pony up some cash to get him, unlike Flamini who netted the club nothing as a free transfer.

I suppose if this comes to pass it will only strengthen the rumors of Kranjcar to North London. It would leave the Gunners awfully young on the flanks, with Walcott and Vela jumping up the depth chart...

[Acid]

Re: The Transfer Thread

Potentially worse news for ya, q-bert: Hleb will leave Gunners

I'd take Carlos Vela on the right wing over Hleb.

[billmatic]

Re: The Transfer Thread

I suspect that Hleb will eventually leave this summer. Wenger seemed to be publicly politicking for him to stay and usually when that happens, the player is halfway out the door. While his departure would hurt the Gunners, his inconsistency has hurt them as well. At least Inter will have to pony up some cash to get him, unlike Flamini who netted the club nothing as a free transfer.

I suppose if this comes to pass it will only strengthen the rumors of Kranjcar to North London. It would leave the Gunners awfully young on the flanks, with Walcott and Vela jumping up the depth chart...

Actually, Inter won't have to pay anything, as Hleb can buy out the last 2 years of his contract.

[sportsdude]

Re: The Transfer Thread

While I'd like Hleb on Inter, I want to see them do a bit more this summer. With Figo leaving, we're going to have some cash to spend.

[Qb]

Re: The Transfer Thread

Actually, Inter won't have to pay anything, as Hleb can buy out the last 2 years of his contract.

Bummer. I didn't know he had a buyout. Do you happen to know how much it is? Hopefully enough to put towards an affordable replacement, as sometimes they can be almost as much as a transfer fee (although I doubt it in Hleb's case)...

[Bruins]

Re: The Transfer Thread

Arsenal manager Wenger plays down report of Hleb departure

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has played down reports that Alexander Hleb is about to follow Mathieu Flamini out of the club.

Hleb's agent, Nikolai Shpilevski, was quoted on Friday as saying that the Belarusian is leaving and may be on his way to Inter Milan.

But Wenger said he has heard nothing from the midfielder, who joined the Gunners from Stuttgart three seasons ago.

"You cannot stop people talking but at the moment there is nothing," the Arsenal manager said at a news conference ahead of Sunday's final game of the season at Sunderland.

"I believe that, usually, all the players want to stay, and I expect this team to say 'let's make a pact together, come back next year and win'. That's what I expect them to do and my priority is to keep the team together, add what I think can help us to even be better and then see from there."

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/...senal-Hleb.php

[billmatic]

Re: The Transfer Thread

Bummer. I didn't know he had a buyout. Do you happen to know how much it is? Hopefully enough to put towards an affordable replacement, as sometimes they can be almost as much as a transfer fee (although I doubt it in Hleb's case)...

It's not that he has a buyout in his contract, it's the Fifa clause that allows all players under a certain age to buyout of their contract after 3 years. I don't know the ins and outs of it, but basically he'd just have to pay Arsenal the remaining 2 years of wages on his contract.

[Qb]

Re: The Transfer Thread

It's not that he has a buyout in his contract, it's the Fifa clause that allows all players under a certain age to buyout of their contract after 3 years. I don't know the ins and outs of it, but basically he'd just have to pay Arsenal the remaining 2 years of wages on his contract.

Huh, I've never heard of that before. Thanks for the clarification.

[billmatic]

Re: The Transfer Thread

Huh, I've never heard of that before. Thanks for the clarification.

I guess it's only been around a year or 2. Here's some info on it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosman_ruling#Webster_ruling

[calcutta]

Re: The Transfer Thread

Chelsea have reportedly agreed to a deal for Porto fullback Jose Bosingwa.

And i read on Eurosport TV that VfL Wolfsburg has agreed a fee to sign Palermo defender Christian Zaccardo, aka the guy who scored for the USA against his home nation in 2006